Awards
Prince of Asturias Prize Interview with Michael Schumacher on being awarded the Prince of Asturias Prize on 26th October 2007 in Oviedo (Spain): What does it mean to you to receive this prestigious award? Naturally, I regard it as a great honour. As I said at the award ceremony, it came as a complete surprise. I'm particularly pleased that the panel of judges chose to honour not just my career but also the charity work done by myself and my wife. As regards your present and future professional activities, can we ask if you are going to continue in Formula One and with Ferrari in particular? My 'present professional activities', as you put it, have been tied up with Ferrari since I retired. I'm a consultant for them. In Formula One, everything hinges on swapping ideas and knowledge and the same applies in GT. Even when I was still active as a racing driver, I was involved in the development of Ferrari road vehicles such as the Enzo or the 599 GTB Fiorano, so it follows that I can now make an even bigger input here. In Formula One, I'm in contact with the engineers and technicians and we have discussions about possible design improvements. Apart from which, as a former driver, I'm well placed to judge what is going on inside the car or during a race. Don't you miss the competitive side of racing? Well obviously, I loved racing. I still love to drive and of course I carry on driving - but in a different way. However, the Formula One chapter is closed. My latest challenge is to manage my time so that I can fulfil my consultancy role and still have plenty of quality time with my family. I've no regrets. I enjoy the feeling of freedom. If you hadn't been beaten by Alonso, do you think you might have carried on racing - for one further season at least? When I decided to stop racing, it had absolutely nothing to do with Fernando or with Kimi either. It was my own decision based on how I felt inside. I'd achieved as much as I could. You've won seven world titles and set a string of records. Do you think another driver will ever beat your record? You know, every champion has his own story which is worthy of respect. And I respect them all. Whether another driver will come along - who knows? When Fangio was setting records, everyone at the time thought no one would ever be able to match him. UNESCO Envoy In 2002, Michael was awarded the title of UNESCO Special Envoy for Education and Sports at a ceremony in Paris. San Marino Ambassador In 2003, the Republic of San Marino made Michael an honorary ambassador for his humanitarian work. Sports Personality of the Year L'Equipe votes Schumacher 2002 Sportsman of the Year Paris (AFP) - Formula One World Champion Michael Schumacher has been chosen by the leading French sports publication as Sports Personality of the Year for 2002. Dubbing him 'Schumi le Magnifique' (Schumi the Magnificent), L'Equipe paid tribute to the 32-year-old who had just been voted the top sportsman in the world for the second year running. 2002 proved to be a record-breaking year for Schumacher. He was followed in second place by Croatian Olympic skiing champion Janica Kostelic and in third place by Real Madrid's Brazilian football star Roberto Carlos. Schumacher voted 2002 European Sports Personality of the Year At the 45th awards ceremony, representatives from 24 European press agencies chose the five-times Formula One champion as their 2002 Sports Personality of the Year; just one week before, he had also been voted number one by European sports journalists. In the German national awards, the Ferrari driver had to make do with third spot behind ski jumper Sven Hannawald and NBA basketball player Dirk Nowitzki. The European press agencies awarded Schumacher 192 points which put him well ahead of Norway's four-times Olympic Biathlon champion Ole Einar Bjï¿½rndalen (150) and Croatian skier Janica Kostelic (148), winner of three gold medals at the Salt Lake City Olympics. Sports Personality of the Year 2001 In December, the International Association of Sports Journalists (AIPS) had already chosen Schumacher as their 'World Sports Personality of the Year' and the European Sports Press Association had voted him their 'European Sports Personality of the Year'. He also emerged from a poll of 21 news agencies based in 20 different countries as 'Sports Personality of the Year'. It was only on his home turf that the winner of 53 GP races failed to sweep the board. In the poll for Germany's Sports Personality of the Year, Schumi took third spot behind cycling star Erik Zabel and Bayern Munich's goalkeeper Oliver Kahn. Champion of the Champions Champion of the Champions and Athlete of the Year 2001 Michael Schumacher has yet another trophy for his cabinet. After being chosen as 'Champion of the Champions' by the French sports journal L'Equipe, the four-times world champion was voted 'Athlete of the Year' by the Italian specialist publication Gazetta dello Sport. The 33-year-old is the first Formula One driver to receive this title which has been awarded every year since 1978. The poll conducted amongst Italy's sports journalists gave him a grand total of 823 points, ahead of Australian swimming phenomenon Ian Thorpe on 810 and Moroccan middle distance runner Hicham El Guerrouj on 740. Team of the year was Schumi's Ferrari. Schumacher also emerged triumphant from an internet poll that was conducted parallel with the experts' deliberations. Securing 39.4 percent of the votes cast, the Ferrari driver came in comfortably ahead of the USA's Tour de France victor Lance Armstrong (14.9 percent) and Ian Thorpe (13.1 percent).=